Duo (Tri)es to steal thousands of pins from sorority headquarters in TX

Arlington, Texas (KWKT) — Two people face jail time for attempting to steal thousands of pins from a sorority's headquarters in Arlington, Texas.

Carla Rae Seals, 42, of Grand Prairie, and Mark Jason Stroface, 41, of Arlington, are accused of stealing about 2,000 pins from the Tri-Delta headquarters in the 2300 block of Brookhollow Plaza, said Arlington police. The pins were discovered missing on February 27, 2014, and reported to the Arlington Police Department.

Officials believe the pins were stolen over time and not all at once, possibly between September and late February. They were stored in a secure locked location, which authorities suspect Seals, who is an employee at the headquarters, gained access to and let Stroface into the building.

Authorities determined the alleged criminals, who are a couple, were responsible after Stroface's fingerprints were found at the crime scene.

A handful of the 14-carat gold pins have been recovered, but only a small fraction, police said. Detectives are still working to locate the rest of the pins.

Both suspects, who live together, were arrested Wednesday morning and charged with theft over $200,000. Bail has been set at $100,000 each.

After members pass away, relatives send the sorority pins to the headquarters as part of their tradition. Due to this, thousands of pins are stored at the site. The missing pins, which are gold and have some precious stones in them, are believed to be worth around $400,000 together. A single pin is valued at about $200.